Board of Directors

Executive Committee

Russell St John

Board Chair

Russell St John serves as the Beyond New Beginnings Board chair and is a co-founder with Jill Engeswick and Sue Schmidt. His civic focus is on efforts relating to housing insecurity. He formerly served as Chair of the Chaska Heritage Preservation Commission and has served on the Chaska Human Rights Commission. Russell is a mentor for Minnesota Adult/Teen Challenge and a volunteer for Chaska’s Christmas in May. He served as Chair for LoveINC, Carver County for eight years and is a member of Rotary International. He enjoys trekking, having experienced the Himalayas, Alps, Scottish Highlands, and the Sierra Nevada mountains. Russell is a Wealth Management Advisor with US Bancorp Investments providing planning, investment management and insurance services.

Jill Engeswick

Secretary and Program Director

Jill Engeswick is BNB Co-founder, Program Director and Board Secretary. She was an educator for SWMetro ISD 288 for 30 years, working with at-risk high school students. Twenty of those years she taught and supported pregnant and parenting teens in the New Beginnings High School program. She has in-depth, first-hand experience understanding the needs of young moms and their children. Jill was also instrumental in preparing students to testify at the MN Senate and House of Representatives regarding having the state provide funding for school transportation for pregnant and parenting teens and their children. The bill passed in 2019. Jill is committed to creating a community where all people have safe and secure housing and hope for a better future.

Sue Schmidt

Vice Chair

Sue Schmidt, Vice-chair of Beyond New Beginnings. Sue is the Lead Teacher for the New Beginnings program. She has worked with young moms and their children for the past 26 years with Southwest Metro Intermediate District 288. It has been a vision of Sue’s to have a safe place for students in the New Beginnings program to live and raise their child. Sue has a passion for ‘’Service to others’’ and strives to instill this in her students.

Eric Gentry

Treasurer

Eric Gentry serves on the board and is also its Treasurer. Presently, he works for an Equity Investment Firm located in Atlanta, GA, specializing in the Single Family Rental (SFR), Real Estate Sector. Previously, he was the Director of Housing & Emergency Services at the Scott, Carver Dakota CAP Agency and served as the Local Lead for Scott and Carver counties within the Suburban Metro Continuum of Care. Eric has over 25 years of experience in the affordable housing realm.

Throughout his career he has worked with various community partners to set up dynamic response systems to effectively address the adversities of homelessness locally and regionally. He has an unfathomable passion for ensuring that everyone within the community has decent and safe housing. Over the years, Eric has interfaced with the New Beginnings program and is excited to be a part of this endeavor and help see this project through to completion and beyond!

Eric lives in the city of Carver with his wife and two children and has called Carver County his home for over 20 years.

Directors

Christine Erickson

Christine Erickson has been serving students in the New Beginnings program over eight years. Through her current role as Director of Children at Risk Ministries at Grace Church, Christine started a mentoring program for single moms and various support services. She also leads at-risk children/youth initiatives, with an emphasis on foster care and human trafficking. Christine began her career in business management before transitioning to the nonprofit sector. She led a local transitional home for sexually-exploited women, served with various programs for vulnerable populations, and in the late 90s, she assisted with refugee resettlement after the genocide war in Bosnia Herzegovina. Christine lives with her family in Victoria and enjoys coffee, reading, adventurous travel and walks with her Springerdoodle.

Anne Furlong

Anne Furlong currently works in Risk Management at U.S. Bank where she has held a variety of leadership positions in Finance, Project Management, Risk Management and Acquisition Integration since she joined the bank in 1985. She has a Bachelor in finance from the University of St. Thomas and a Master in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. Anne’s volunteer service over the years has emphasized education and youth through other non-profit board service and project management activities. Anne and her husband Tom have five adult children and are proud to have called Chanhassen their home for the past 30 years.

Lynn K. Lewis

Lynn K. Lewis is currently the CEO and Founder of the Family Refuge Village. Prior to this position she was the Executive Branch Director and Upper Midwest Regional Director for Bethany Christian Services. She has worked as an Area Manager for Hennepin County Child Protection Services. She provided leadership to: screening and investigations, case management, family assessment, permanency, Indian Child Welfare, foster care, adoption, and children’s mental health. Prior to Hennepin, Lewis served as the senior director of community services for the Professional Association of Treatment Homes, which included foster parent education, federal projects, and youth transition programming. Lynn was also Director of Family services at the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery. She has an undergraduate degree in Business Management and Computer Technology, from Cameron University, a Master’s in social work policy from Augsburg and she has completed Ph.D. coursework at the University of Minnesota. Lynn is happily married and the proud mother of two children. She also has a phenomenal granddaughter.

Corey Magstadt

Corey Magstadt is the founder and Executive Director of Launch Ministry whose vision is to be the leader in launching in-crisis 18-29 year olds into successful adulthood with a special focus on young adults experiencing homelessness. With 12 years experience working with youth in crisis, Corey brings an expertise in best practices for serving this demographic. Corey is married with two children and lives in Spring Lake Park.

Board Advisors

Ezra Kenyanya

Ezra Kenyanya is the Program Manager of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships at Jeremiah Program. Jeremiah Program offers one of the nation’s most successful strategies for transforming families from poverty to prosperity two generations at a time. Jeremiah prepares determined single mothers to excel in the workforce, readies their children to succeed in school, and reduces generational dependence on public assistance.

He is the founder and director of VUNA International, an organization that seeks to empower isolated communities with inadequate access to healthcare, education, and food security in Africa. In recent years, the organization’s work has expanded to work with immigrant youth in the diaspora. Prior to coming to Jeremiah Program, Ezra served as Community Organizer and Consultant for non-profit organizations both nationally and internationally.

Mary Tingerthal

Mary Tingerthal serves as an advisor to the Beyond New Beginnings board. She has spent her career in housing and community development finance, with the last eight years as commissioner of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency. She has served on numerous non-profit boards, including Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity and CommonBond, and as a member of the community advisory council to the Federal Reserve Board. Mary now consults with organizations that are making housing more affordable and available to more people. She is excited to see community leaders coming together with BNB to serve the housing needs of pregnant and parenting teens.

BNB Staff

Molly Koivumaki

Executive Director

In April, 2022, Molly joined Beyond New Beginnings as the first-ever Executive Director. She is an experienced leader in municipal government operations, with a focus on community development, affordable housing solutions and social services.

A resident of Chaska for nearly 25 years, Molly is involved in many local civic and service organizations.